Celebrating the Confederacy Shames America

Last week Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell declared April to be Confederate History Month in the state of Virginia, and the controversy quickly ensued.  Most of the angered Americans directed their frustrations at the fact that Gov. McDonnell failed to mention slavery as a part of the Confederacy, yet not at the fact that Virginia felt compelled to celebrate an institution that desired to destroy America.  In no way am I trying to down play the significance of slavery in the shaping of America, but focusing on slavery instead of current acts that undermine the foundation of America at present would be a disservice to America as a whole.  The Governor of Virginia last week declared that the citizens of Virginia celebrate a group that not only attempted to destroy America, but whose President Jefferson Davis was found guilty of treason.  Should states be allowed to celebrate treasonous institutions?

I have lived the vast majority of my life in Georgia, so I fully understand the sensitivity of this issue.  I understand the anger that the Confederacy invokes in African Americans, and I have also witnessed the pride with which Southerners revere the Confederacy.  The former still carries the scars from slavery, and the latter celebrates the fact that their ancestors fought for what they believed.  For the most part African Americans would prefer for White Americans to understand the pain that slavery has caused on our families, but realistically this request will constantly fall on deaf ears as long as so much pride is still attributed to the Confederacy.  When these conflicts begin the emotions on both sides become heightened and the chance for progress disappears, and this situation is a prime example.  America focuses on slavery instead of the Confederacy, and in response influential white Southerners like Mississippi Gov. Haley Barber defend the Confederate History Month proclamation by saying that the controversy surrounding slavery “doesn’t matter for diddly”.  (Southern vernacular never ceases to amaze me, and now I have to decide whether I should add ‘diddly’ as a word in Microsoft Word.)  However, despite ‘diddly’ hardly being a word, Gov. Barber does have a point.  The controversy over slavery does not matter nearly as much as the controversy that should surround celebrating the Confederacy.

By exploring the writings of Jefferson Davis, the first and only President of the Confederacy, you see a consistent theme of white supremacy throughout.  Davis regards slavery as a benevolent paternal system that spreads Christianity and benefits the economy by reducing the price of cotton, yet the most important aspect of his writings is that he states that the main benefit of slavery is to sustain the superiority, dignity, and equality of whites by reserving only menial positions for blacks.  As an African American I would never want to live in a society that advocated or celebrated beliefs such as these, and I would hope that most Americans would share this opinion, yet sadly this is a question that needs to be asked.  As a society does America want to favor one group of people over another based solely on race, and then reserve menial labor for all other races with the hope that their inexpensive backbreaking labor spurs the economy to increase the riches of the one favored race?  If you ask most Americans this question I bet most would disagree with this opinion, yet many of those who disagree may still favor a Confederate History Month.  This is where the inconsistencies arise, and this needs to be the focus of the controversy.

Focusing on slavery or calling someone a racist will not further the progress of America.  Those who embrace the Confederacy and omit slavery will only see the anger of others as a misunderstanding that can be fixed by acknowledging slavery, and they will only view calls of racism as misguided anger.  They will then be able to continue celebrating a rebellion that prioritized their race above all others and was very influential in creating the person they are today.  We instead should address the tenets of the Confederacy, and discover if those who support the Confederacy also support these beliefs.  If they agree with the beliefs of Jefferson Davis then it would be fair to call them a racist because they would have just admitted to being a racist, and that is obviously not something America can support.  If those who support celebrating the Confederacy do not support the beliefs of Jefferson Davis then we would need to find out exactly what they do support about the Confederacy, and if they feel that it would be possible to celebrate the areas that they feel are worth celebrating without accidentally celebrating the unsavory racist practices of the rebellion.  This forces people to address difficult questions, and requires them to be accountable for their actions.  These are attributes that are seriously lacking from our society.

When we address issues such as slavery and the Confederacy we need to understand that the people who are racists will not be inclined to view themselves as racists.  Being a racist is bad, and most people want to feel as if they are good, so they will form a logical reason for their negative acts.  A white person may agree with the idea of favoring a white person over a black person because he was brought up with the idea that blacks are inferior to whites.  To himself he is not a racist because he would be treating people properly.  He would treat the better race better than the other race, and this would be logical because it would make sense to give the best to the best.  A white person may favor his white friends over a person of another race because he is not comfortable around other races since he did not grow up with them.  This logic makes sense to many people, but the foundation of this logic resides in the idea that white people should initially be suspicious of other races because they are either dangerous or inferior.  If they viewed other races objectively and with curiosity then I doubt they would be as hesitant to engage with them.  Therefore, to counter racism you need to objectively show holes in the logic and reasoning of others.  Racists do not know that they are racists until you objectively show it to them.  Focusing in the emotional aspects of an issue quickly destroy the objectivity of all arguments, and therefore diminish the chance of progress.  The handling of Virginia’s Confederate History Month has only showed why America still has much room for improvement concerning the past, present, and future of race relations of this nation.

I will be continuing this discussion tonight on the blogtalk radio show Black America Rising tonight from 8:00 to 9:30PM.  You can listen to the show by calling (347) 237-4331 or by visiting the website.

Capturing the Struggle for Civil Rights

A young African American male turns to face his attackers after being sprayed by a hose in 1963 Birmingham

Civil Rights photographer Charles Moore died on March 11th, 2010 at the age of 79, but his images live on.

Charles Moore's photographs brought the mostly regional issue of segregation to the forefront of American thought.  The image of Dr. Martin Luther King being arrested in a Birmingham cafe for loitering, and being treated as a common thug awoke the national consciousness to the evils of segregation.  Charles Moore's additionally photographed Blacks in the South being attacked by dogs and water hoses with the cocky police commissioner Bull Connor proud of the actions he has condoned. 

Charles Moore brought to light an issue, and issues, that are too easily ignored, yet should never be.  We thank him for widening the perspectives of many people, and facilitating changes that America desperately needed.

Charles Moore

For more info on Charles Moore go to the BBC, and Powerful Days

Taraneh and The Melody of Change

Taraneh Mousavi, one of the victims of the Iranian regime's brutality 

More than eight months have passed after the disputed Iranian elections held in the past summer. Yet, despite all the pressure to silence the voices, there are those who are still standing up and calling for justice the only way they can in that country: by protests!

 Taraneh Mousavi is one of the many victims of the regimes attempts to intimidate people not to participate in any campaign for reforms. Taraneh was arrested at a protest rally near the Ghoba mosque in Tehran on June 28, 2009. After being tortured and raped, she was then hospitalized for a short while due to rupturing of her womb and anus. About a month later, her family was informed that a burned corpse matching Taraneh’s description was found in a desert outside of Tehran and that they should keep quiet about the incident. Her appearance and family name suggest that she was from a religious family.

Just like Neda, Taraneh also became another symbol for the green movement in Iran. Not just because of the brutality against her, but also because her death showed once more the true face of the dictatorial elements within the Iranian regime that tend to hide behind social and religious values for their own benefits. The kind of elements that, similar to any other dictatorship we know, care for nothing but their own survival, even if it means mercilessly, raping and killing,  a Muslim teenage girl for having an opinion different from the authorities. This greed for power has gone to an extent that has lead to denying the very religious and social values the Islamic regime once stood up for.

The history is filled with the story of those who have lost their lives for a greater cause. Those whose shedding of their blood has made them as shining stars shedding light on the lives of many even in the darkest nights of the human history. Though these times are very bitter for many Iranians inside and outside of Iran, but surely, their stars have started shining. It is only a matter of time that this light reaches the hearts and eyes of more and more people to bring about change. A king of change that calls for justice rather than corruption, security rather than fear, peace rather than wars, respect rather than accusations,  responsibility rather than ideology, law rather than nepotism, and in one word human dignity. The melody of change has already started playing in Iran, and Taraneh, the Farsi word for Melody, was amongst the first to hear it.



Septuagenarians May Ruin America

John Oliver was not referring to these septuagenarians

The Daily Show’s John Oliver gave a very compelling argument concerning the absurdity of certain elderly Senator’s disapproval of overturning “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” in our military.  Despite the desire of the President, high ranking military officials, and the majority of the American public these elderly Senators refuse to reconsider their stance.  If these Senators can stand in the way of the will of the American public on this issue, equal rights for all Americans, based on archaic notions of right and wrong, then they will be more inclined to impede Americans on a wide array of other issues ranging from health care, economic policy, civil liberties, and more.  America may have a new threat that is equally absurd as it is dangerous.

Watch the video below.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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